"I never imagined that I would be in this kind of position," Okwara said, according to UMass. "I've had somewhat of an unusual story, but because UMass has been so good to me and because I've had so much support along the way, that's the only reason why I'm able to stand here today."

Okwara graduated from UMass Medical School in June 2017 and is now a primary care resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Her family moved from Kenya to Lowell in 2007 when she was 17. Okwara was a recipient of the Charles D. Baker II Scholarship, created by Baker in honor of his grandfather, while an undergraduate student at UMass Boston, where she studied biology, and while at UMass Medical School.